Wednesday, 17 October 2012

So, having reviewed the fleet over the weekend, a 1000pt battle was organised with Pete for this evening. I debated at length what to put on the table, eventually deciding to leave the usual favourites (Mk.I Magenta, Marseilles) in the bag. Initially went with Tourbillon, Vauban, Couronne, Chevalier, Lyons, Ecuyers, and Voltaires. On a reflection I dropped the Tourbillon for the Mk.2 Magenta.

As it happened we timed out at the end of Turn 2 - neither myself or Pete play particularly quickly, and when throw in chatting, smoking, taking pics, and looking up rules we don't know, it's no surprise. I won, on points, because although Pete sunk the Couronne and a Chevalier, I'd stopped three of his destroyers, and a cruiser, and damaged one more. Both Pete and I are at an age now where finishing the game isn't that important - it's just nice to put our toys on the table and push them about.

Star of the show for me was the Ecuyers (again), and the Chevaliers (who throw out some serious firepower). The sheer number of TFTs gave me massive advantage, so I'll be doing that tactic again. Certainly going to get another squadron of Chevaliers - they're seriously good.

The bloody Time Dilation Orb of Pete's CoA proved a pain in the arse, as he teleported his carrier next to mine and absolutely hammered it. There's no way of combating it, just need to wait for the inevitable.

Anyway, here's the pics. Excuse the ones in portrait that aren't - using a different phone today, and it doesn't seem to auto-adjust

Sunday, 14 October 2012

A quiet day at Port du Tangent, so the Admiral de la Fleet Atlantique (moi) ordered Garlic, Cognac, and Baguettes stowed in their lockers and undertook a fleet review.

First past the bench are the Ecuyer class support cruisers. Despite only having been in combat once - against the British - they proved surprisingly tough.

Now we have the two Epaulard class submarines. Equipped with bombard mortar, they should be good, but have so far proven ineffective. They also have mine-laying capability, but the mines in question wouldn't sink a canoe, so they tend to stay in port.

Now the mighty Vauban class sky fortress. A sort of battleship/carrier/airship - packing huge firepower, huge amount of tiny flyers, and all sorts of gadgets. This ship's predecessor was famously shot down in action against the Covenant of Antartica. A magazine explosion ensured that she took almost everything else down with her too.

Tiny flyers. The Republique field huge numbers of these, but so far they've only proven to be a nuisance. A change in tactics beckons where they should be used against destroyers and corvettes.

The Furieux class scoutship. Used for ranging far ahead of the main fleet. Perhaps that's why they've been shot to ribbons in every battle without really hurting anything

Voltaire class heavy interceptors - theoretically very good, but only two fielded so far. Expecting more results when used in bigger numbers (see Arms Race below)

Marseilles class cruisers. Stalwart ships of the line - have dished out some serious punishment in return for few losses. Almost always fitted with retardant armour, which usually helps longevity.

The ill-starred Magenta II class pocket battleship. She's been crippled twice, and boarded once. The heat lance is a powerful weapon, but also a powerful fire magnet. Nonetheless, her faithful crew struggle on, hoping one day to prove their worth.

Ah, the belle of the fleet; the Magenta I class pocket battleship. Unlike her later Mk.II cousin, the old girl leads a charmed life; having survived every encounter with nowt but a scratch here and the odd dent there. Repulsed and then counter-boarded the Convenant's battleship during the same engagement that saw the sky fortress explode.

Then the mighty Charlemagne class dreadnought. Slow, ponderous, and incredibly powerful. Sunk a lot of British ships in one encounter, but otherwise remained resolutely in port.

Arms Race
Thanks to the dastardly machinations of the Convenant of Antarctica, and to a lesser extent the Kingdom of Britannia, the Republique has had to embark on a programme of ship building.

Although this is supposedly secret, some details have leaked out. A Tourbillion airship, a Couronne class battle carrier, another Magenta I, and some Chevalier Destroyers and Frelon small flyers.
More are in the works, and even more planned, especially on the airship front - the British preponderance of torpedoes will be thwarted by simply not being in the water. The Republique will know victory once more (eventually).

Friday, 12 October 2012

I've been following the alarmingly prolific Jim at Jim's Wargames Workbench for a while, and saw a post from him about gaming on Tuesday with a 1940 Battle of Britain scenario based on real events.

For want of a couple of hours distraction, and because I'm generally quite nice to fellow wargamers, I offered to tweak my card deck for him in return for the scenario he'd written.

Here's one of what I did done make for him;

Never ceases to amaze me the photos you can find on the internet without much searching. The chap asleep in the chair is actually the very man who led the flight into combat in the scenario. Chap looking moodily off into the middle distance is 56sqn, although unidentified.

Him what writes stuff

A mildly mature product of the clay hills and sporadic woods of Sussex. Successfully bred. Perennially skint.
IT Salesman by trade, comes pre-installed with vast and random knowledge of World War 2, British history, British Political history, almost every warplane ever made, and a vague interest in mechanical devices, especially firearms and engines.
Secret shame includes historical wargaming, painting wargames miniatures, generally looking stupid during pub quizzes, and shirking responsibility.
Heroes and influences include Jack Hargreaves, Winston Churchill, Percy Hobart, Spike Milligan, Bill Bailey, Enoch Powell, and the greatest man of all time - the late Bob Hamilton.